The grain sales will start on October 23 and cover Siberia, the Urals and the Russian Far East, Dvorkovich said at a meeting of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his deputies.

“The prices that will be set at the initial stage will be about 10-15 percent lower than the prevailing market prices: 7,200 rubles ($231.51) for fourth-grade wheat and 7,600 rubles for third-grade wheat,” he said.

Russian Grain Union President Arkady Zlochevsky said in August domestic bread prices may rise 5-10 percent in the fall in the wake of rising grain prices driven by drought in some of Russian regions.

Russia has cut its harvest forecast for this year from 80-85 million tons to no more than 75 million tons of grain. Russia harvested 94.2 million tons of grain in 2011